Friday, 30 November 2012

I finally got to play my match against the Goblins last night and was feeling fairly confident due to the Awesome nastiness that is my Undead steamroller !!

Then I remembered how many inducements I would be giving away. These Goblins would end up with two Chainsaws, two Looneys a Bomber and a Pogo'er as well as enough bribes to keep them around for most of the match!

The weather was a fine day and even though hordes of screaming little greenskins had turned up, the zombified remains that make up Atrocity's supporters just gave them the edge.

The teams set up with Atrocity ready to receive. Hoping to score quick and get the weapon handlers sent off or at least use up some of the influence that they knew the Gobbos had over the ref.

Nobbla and Fungus giggled excitedly with the expected carnage they could reek and the very skilled Trolls lumbered upto the line, covering the Zombies and shielding their Goblin team-mates.

The kick went up and a gentle breeze wafted it towards the waiting Ghoul. The Mummies put the hurt on the Trolls and managed to knock them over and a few Goblins were smacked about. A Wight slammed into the Bomber and as he crunched into the ground a bomb went of and blew him into the air, depositing him in the Injuries section of the Gitz dugout.

Fungus whirled around the pitch and Nobbla ran up and chainsawed a Ghoul. Fortunately, although injured, its thick skin saved it from being nothing more than badly hurt.

The Zombies and Mummies again shambled into the Goblin lines but couldnt make their savage presence really felt. A Wight Blitzed into Nobbla but didnt catch him right and just bounced of his armour.

The Ghoul with the ball ran to the left flank and launched a long pass towards the other Wight, who deftly caught it and with a bit of stretching reached the End Zone to score. TOUCHDOWN 1-0

The crowd went wild and Atrocity gave a rictus grin, only to see that grin turn to grimace as the suitably bought ref failed to send of any of the Goblins weapons and even reset the clock back to give them nearly a whole half to grind into Atrocity.

The Undead set up and steeled themselves for 7 turns of hurt. With some deft defending and the Zombies stretching their movement everytime, it still was not enough. Fungus seem to have a spell on his ball and chain as it never failed to connect against an Atrocity player, sending numerous players to the KO box. With a depleted team Atrocity could not contain the small, dodging, sneaky Gobbos, although they had injured a few, and they managed right at the end to score. TOUCHDOWN 1-1.

Second Half and although Fungus and Nobbla had been sent off, the Gitz still had their original chainsaw and Looney players and they would be receiving the ball again. Atrocity fans were frustrated and chucked a rock at the nearest Troll stunning him and the Gitz fans thought this was fun so threw a rock and hit a Zombie and KO'd him.

Again Atrocity were on the back foot as the little green homing missile that was the ball and chain connected every time, crunching Zombies and Wights alike, the chainsaw was targeted by every available Atrocity player and although he was constantly put on the deck, proceded to get back up and stick two green fingers up at the disbelieving Undead!

Finally after some frantic defending, a Gitz Goblin smug with the ball and his dodgy skill managed to miss the trailing bandages of an adjacent Mummy and went smack into the turf!! Atrocity surged towards the loose ball. The remaining Ghoul scooped it up and charged into the rear free of Gitz players and the rest of Atrocity tied up the remaining Gitz members. After being Blitzed to the ground the Gitz Pogo'er, the only player with a realistic chance of gaining on the Ghoul was suddenly fouled by a Zombie. The Zombie was sent off but the damage had been done, the Pogo'er was carried from the field with a Smashed ankle.
With no chance of being caught, the Ghoul danced about for a few turns whilst the rest of Atrocity tried to decimate the Gitz out of pure undead malice before the Ghoul finally skipped into the end zone to score. TOUCHDOWN 2-1

Atrocity win and considerable relieved after what could have been an embarrising loss by GOBLINS!!

James who played the Goblins is a very good Bloodbowl coach and with all those secret weapons/star players and bribes caused me considerable difficulty. Plus the fact that the bloody Looneys seemed to have zombie attacting missile ball and chains!!

Friday, 23 November 2012

As everyone should know - today in 1963 the BBC broadcast that fantastic and otherworldly theme music for the first time. Setting the T.A.R.D.I.S on a journey that is still captivating people today.

At the close of the episode his time machine left present day Earth far behind and began it's 49 year journey, a long and winding journey that introduced the us to Daleks, Sea-Devils, Cybermen, Sontarans, Ice Warriors, and Time Lords.

Sending thousand's of children scuttling behind the sofa, peeking out at the mechanical voices screaming EXTERMINATE and finally cementing in the viewers consciousness that the idea of bow ties really being quite cool . . . . .

Well last night I played my first two games of Necromunda for quite a few years. It showed! I was incredibly rusty and I had my proverbial backside handed to me on a platter.

The first game went by in a blur! turn 2 and it was all over and although the second game lasted much longer the outcome was the same. Two defeats by sneaky, flukey, nasty Cawdor but revenge will be mine....oh yes..it will be mine...

So the write ups:

Game 1:

We decided to go for a straight gang fight as my Techno Ghosts were brand new and Nicks Cawdor Gang (didnt get the gang name but now known as BBC - Bloody Beardy Cawdor!)

Nick set up first and got to go first as well, he also had use of Tunnels so left a couple of Ganger's/Juve's to pop up and cause me hassle.

The first turn and the BBC moved around in cover and my Ghosts did pretty much the same apart from one Lasgun armed Ganger who managed to get a shot off against a BBC Ganger in cover, 6 to hit needed and got, ammo roll passed and roll to wound got as well. The BBC Ganger went down!

Turn two and most of the BBC moved and at the end, six were in position to shoot. What then happened I have not seen in wargaming for a looooooooong time. All six shots hit my characters, all that needed ammo checks passed, all six wounded and out of the six hits the BBC got 3 Downs, 1 Out of Action and 2 Flesh Wounds. One of the Downs was also my Leader. So my turn, lets see, bottle test first, oops leader down so I am on a 7 using a Ganger. Double 5!!!! Bottled...Gang legs it and game lost!

In the post match sequence, out of my Out of Action and Downs I ended up with 3 Serious Injuries which equated to a Dead Ganger, a Ganger with a Leg Wound and a Juve with a Wounded Hand.

So that was quick, lets fit in another game I said.

Game 2:

Again we went for a straight gang fight and this time I set up and went first. Again Nick set a couple aside to go in his tunnels.

First, Second and Third turns were all movement, sneaking around cover as both if us couldnt believe that previously most shots were on a 6 and were all hitting!

Turn four and I made a mistake, I had left a Ganger and my Leader bunched together behind cover but slap bang in front of a BBC Ganger with a Shotgun. One scatter shot later and my Ganger was Down and my Leader pinned.

On the opposite side of the table a BBC Juve was looking at shooting a Juve Ghost who was in cover, safe I thought naively as he needs a 7 to hit, so Nick rolls....and yes 6 followed by a 4 followed by a passed ammo roll, followed by a 4 to wound, followed by a 4 and my Juve goes Down!! the dice gods hate me!

Turn five and six saw me Charge a BBC Ganger with my Leader which resulted in my Leader going Down WTF!!! I managed to get two wounding hits but Nick passed (what a frikkin surprise) his bottle test, then he went on to Down a couple more of the Ghosts and I bottled again!!

Just not my night. At least in the post game I only had two serious injuries from my Downs and as a Juve had gained the skill Medic after the first game, I managed to get both Fully Recovered.

So the end of the first two games for the Ghosts and although I got Mullered on both of them I managed to gain enough cash to buy back my Dead Ganger from game 1 and a fair few gained Skills and Characteristic Increases from experience, although my Leader and Heavy have yet to achive anything.

Thursday, 22 November 2012

In a brief break from the busy Bloodbowl league, I will be starting in a Necromunda campaign with my newly funded Van Saar Underhive gang, the Techno Ghosts.

Necromunda is one of the greatest game's ever made. It has it all, from Wild West type shoot outs to Cyberpunk horrors, which makes me sad to
see that Necromunda has such a small following nowadays.

The appeal of Necromunda when we were youngsters was how
affordable a gang was. All you needed was a £12 gang boxed set, maybe
two if you wanted some conversions. You got all the scenery in the
big box, plus plenty of plastic Orlocks and Goliaths, which no one
actually liked, because they were buying Van Saar instead!

Fortunately the wargames club that I am part of has quite a few players who still remeber the hayday of games like Necromunda, Dark Future and Man'o'War!Choosing a Necromunda GangIn
Necromunda, choosing the right gang makes a big difference. Gangs vary in visual
style from hi-tech heroes to screaming women, all with different access to the skills chart.

Escher GangsAn Escher gang is
entirely comprised of women, making them a very popular Necromunda gang amongst
the geek elite. The Escher gang box contains some of Jes Goodwin's finest
miniatures while being no slouch in the Necromunda game either. An Escher gang
has access to the Agility, Combat and Stealth skills, making them fast and
sneaky close combat specialists.

Orlock GangsThe
jack of all trades gang dressed like Mad Max. Orlock gangs have access to the
Combat, Ferocity and Shooting skills, making them good at fighting, good at
shooting and a little bit aggressive.

Cawdor
GangsHouse Cawdor are a bunch of hooded fanatics with a medieval
theme and are the least popular of the gangs (probably due to the dire model
range). However, they have access to the Agility, Combat and Ferocity skills,
making them aggressive close combat specialists.

Delaque
GangsDelaque gangs combine trench coats with bald heads and
glasses. A Delaque gang is often very sneaky, shooting enemy gangers in the back
through a combination of Agility, Stealth and Shooting
skills. These are the Matrix crew of Necromunda.

GoliathA Goliath gang is all about Combat,
Ferocity and Muscle skills. Goliath gangs have the poorest skill set available,
making them particularly blunt and not very versatile. Never my favourite as the S&M bare chest and chains always put me off!

Van
SaarVan Saar are considered by many to be the best gang in
Necromunda. A Van Saar gang not only looks cool, but has access to the Combat,
Shooting and highly prized Techno skills.

So Why have I choosed a
Van Saar Gang.Techno, Techno,
Techno! Techno is the best skill table in Necromunda and when an entire Van Saar
gang has access to it, choosing skills becomes easy whether the gang member is a
juve, ganger, leader or heavy, because you know that you are guaranteed to roll
something good that will benefit the entire gang.

Van Saar also have
access to the Shooting skills and even the Combat skills as a means of
defence.

Because Necromunda is designed
around shooting, a shooty gang will always have a big advantage. And when it
comes to playing a Campaign, the Techno skills will always generate better
income, more reliable weapons and even free equipment that can be sold for even
more income.

The Techno GhostsMy Van Saar gang is starting with eleven members. A leader, one heavy, six gangers and 3 juves. I have gone for numbers over adding a second heavy mainly due to the cost. An extra heavy with heavy stubber would cost 180 Credits!!!

As it will be a brand new gang and as such facing off against similar gangs I reckoned that the advantage in numbers and firepower would see me through. The juves will actually be my close combat roadblocks, hoping to skill up fairly quickly or if dying, be cheap to replace, whilst the gangers hold back and blast everything else.

The heavy will try and control one flank, with minimum movement and a couple of gangers for support, whilst my leader will be a trouble shooter - moving into position either to give a leadership boost or take advantage of enemies mistakes and shoot or engage in close combat.

Wednesday, 14 November 2012

As stated in my last Bloodbowl match report, I had recently been suffering crippling back pain due to an old Skydiving injury so please forgive the fact that only match reports are being posted on this blog - I have not been able to do much hobby stuff and have only been able to catch up on league Bloodbowl matches that need playing.

After seeing off the Chaos Pact team in a cross Divisional match the Atrocity were again pitched against a cross divisional team.

This time they made their way to the cold and wind blasted land of Naggaroth and were hosted by the evil, malice filled Dark Elves of Harganeth. Not caring where they play, Atrocity managed to get a +2 FAME advantage mainly due to their Necromancer raising undead fans along every part of their journey.

Now I played Dark Elves countless times and used them quite successfully in NAF ranked tournaments so was fairly confident I could counter them even though the majority of my team is slow. The Heartbrreakers were on a decent run of wins as well and had a well skilled up Runner as well as an AG5 Blitzer. My main tactic after finiding I had won the toss and elected to receive first was to drain his team all first half and try and cause damage before scoring, then try and get him to score quick in the second half, giving me time to grind a 2-1 win.

Pouring rain whipped into the stadium and the howls of the undead were heard as the Heartbreakers kick high. A Ghoul ran across and picked the ball out of the storm ridden sky. The first half was on and Atrocity piled in. A Mummy but the hurt on the Runner and KO'd him, whilst the other Mummy blitzed the AG5 player and gained a CAS only to see the Dark Elf Apo weave his magik and he went back into the reserves.

Another Heartbreaker Blitzer found himself pushed into the undead crowd and was Seriously Injured with a Gouged Eye. With the Dark Elves backing off and trying to contain Atrocity a few more ended up KO'd and a Ghoul ran in on Turn 8 for a score. TOUCHDOWN 1-0 Atrocity.

Most of the Heartbreaker players in the KO box stummbled back onto the pitch and the Second Half commenced. Atrocity kicked and in a twist from the weather gods the Sun suddenly blazed over the stadium, having to cover your eyes was going to make it difficult to pass the ball.

The Heartbreakers started moving the ball around looking to make a play down one of the flanks, bad positioning due to lack of numbers though meant a Wight managed to Blitz the ball carrier. The ball was loose and after some scuffle a Ghoul pops up with it and storms into the backfield and manages to score. TOUCHDOWN 2-0 Atrocity.

So with the turnover and score advantage the Dark Elves through caution to the wind, their play became eratic and their Runner ended up on the end of a Wights spike mailed fist CAS. the Apo already thinking his job had been done earlier had left the stadium and was later found in a back street Slanneshi pleasure house, unfortunately for the Runner this left him DEAD!!!! the Necromancer grinned and weaved his dark spells, another Zombie slowly rose up and faced his old team Mwhahahahah.

The Heartbreakers tried the flank again and got into Atrocitys territory but just couldnt contain the full assault of the Undead and again the ball was turned over. With heartrendering ease Atrocity scored again. TOUCHDOWN 3-0. The game ended and the remaining Dark Elves gazed at the Undead with deep seated Malice promising revenge!

Atrocity's next game will be 15/11/12 against a very poor Goblin team. Expect either a complete walkover or an embarrasing defeat (he will have at least 700,000 Gold for Inducements!!)

Sunday, 11 November 2012

The first stroke of eleven produced a magical effect. The tram cars glided into stillness, motors ceased to cough and fume, and stopped dead, and the mighty-limbed dray horses hunched back upon their loads and stopped also, seeming to do it of their own volition. Someone took off his hat, and with a nervous hesitancy the rest of the men bowed their heads also. Here and there an old soldier could be detected slipping unconsciously into the posture of 'attention'. An elderly woman, not far away, wiped her eyes, and the man beside her looked white and stern. Everyone stood very still ... The hush deepened. It had spread over the whole city and become so pronounced as to impress one with a sense of audibility. It was a silence which was almost pain ... And the spirit of memory brooded over it all.

That was scene reported in Manchester on the very first Armistace Day in 1919. As a serving Soldier I am moved that this can similarly still happen these days.

Wednesday, 7 November 2012

Well I have lapsed slightly in writing up this latest match report in the continuing exploits of the Atrocity team, mainly due to suffering from sever crippling back pain recently. Fortunately after having a great wife who has done practically everything for the last week or so and the wonders of Diazipam I am sort of mobile again and can get this match written up before taking on my next opponent on the 8th November 2012.

Atrocity had stormed to three wins out of three in their divisional group and the fourth match was a cross division game against the Chaos Pact team Finbar Utd.
This team of mismatched team of monsters and men had not only a Chaos Troll but also an Ogre, and with a few extra funds afforded to them for this game decided that just for the hell of it why not get a Minotaur as well.

Add these to the marauders that make up the numbers and a sneaky long legged pointy ear'd freak (Dark Elf) I thought I could just maybe be crunched abit. Then again I do have two awesome strength 5 Mummies that can do alot of damage mwhahahaha.

Atrocity's fans again turned up in serious numbers and a mouldering stentch pervailed in the nice weather. Both teams set up and Atrocity booted the ball high into the air. Finbar's resident cheat (I mean Dark Elf) raced over and plucked the ball out of the sky and moves into the centre of the field, where the Marauders cage up around him. The mercenary Minotaur let out a howl and blitzed into a lone Wight trying to push him of the field but in his frenzy misjudged a tackle zone and KO'd himself whilst attempting a dodge.

The centre of the pitch turns into a huge bashy scrum, until the Dark Elf runs out and attempts a pass to a loose Marauder. Unfortuntely the Dark Elf had not realised his hands had been chewed on by a Ghoul and ended up with a double fumble. The Undead surge towards the ball - the Ogre and Troll both get downed and a Mummie blitzes the Dark Elf and gets a CAS!!

The bashing carries on and a Wight Blitzes a Marauder attempting to recover the ball - another CAS, the Troll lurches upto a Zombie and punches, punches himself that is, double skull, falls over, cracks his head and another CAS.

Finbar are falling like nine-pins. A Zombie fouls the Ogre but only gets sent off and finally a Wight collects the ball and runs in for a TOUCHDOWN. 1-0 Atrocity at the end of the half.

Second half and Finbar kick off. Atrocity take a quicksnap and the Ghouls make their move but end up butterfingering a pass and catch play. A Wight goes for a foul on a Marauder and kills him DEAD but the Necromancer has a bad day and no new Zombie booooo! The Ghouls quickly control the ball and a TOUCHDOWN is scored again 2-0 Atrocity.

The last couple of turns ended up as a dire farce, with a Zombie being sent off, ball pick-up's failed and a couple of double skulls thrown in for good measure.